GKN Pushes Single-Aisle Jet Business After Volvo Unit Purchase

CEO of GKN's aerospace and land systems business Marcus Bryson said the technology additions in recent years should help advance GKN’s position on single-aisle airliners, the most widely used class of commercial jets. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

July 11 (Bloomberg) -- GKN Plc said it’s exploring a deeper
push into the single-aisle jet market after bolstering its
aerospace business this month with the purchase of Volvo AB’s
aircraft-engine unit for 633 million pounds ($987 million).

Winning more work on narrow-body programs is a priority,
Marcus Bryson, the chief executive officer of GKN’s aerospace
and land systems business, said in an interview at the
Farnborough air show near London. GKN isn’t involved in Boeing
Co.’s 737 Max, the manufacturer’s fuel-efficient variant of its
bestselling aircraft, a gap Bryson said he wants to fill.

“It’s now more important to us that we look at trying to
get some content on those programs,” Bryson said. “The market
is set for the next decade.”

GKN gave its aviation business a boost with the purchase
this month of the Volvo subsidiary, adding lightweight airframe
and engine components to narrow the gap with companies including
Safran SA. Bryson said the technology additions in recent years
should help advance GKN’s position on single-aisle airliners,
the most widely used class of commercial jets.

A strategic review following the Volvo purchase will take
about 18 months, and GKN will seek to outpace market growth,
Bryson says. The company, based in Redditch in the U.K., is also
seeking to win business on Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China
Ltd.’s C919 jetliner, the nation’s first large passenger plane,
and reach a deal before the end of the year, he said.

GKN has steadily expanded in commercial and military
aviation, most significantly through the 2008 purchase of
Airbus’s Filton, U.K. production site. The company is involved
in military programs such as the Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35
Joint Strike Fighter and the Airbus A400M military transport, as
well as models such as Boeing’s 787 and the Airbus A320.